Feb. 4, Calabria, Italy: series of 6 earthquakes
over two-month period caused massive destruction, killing 50,000. One of
first scientifically investigated earthquakes.

June 8, Iceland: eruption of Laki volcano lasted
until Feb. 1784. Haze from eruption resulted in loss of island's
livestock and widespread crop failure; 9,350 deaths, mostly due to
starvation.

1792

May 21, Kyushu Island, Japan: collapse of old lava
dome during eruption of Unzen volcano caused avalanche and tsunami that
killed an estimated 14,300 people. (Most were killed by the tsunami.)
Japan's greatest volcano disaster.

1811

Dec. 16, Mississippi Valley, nr. New Madrid, Mo.:
earthquake reversed the course of the Mississippi River. Fatalities
unknown due to sparse population in area. Aftershocks and tremors
continued into 1812. It has been estimated that three of the series of
earthquakes had surface-wave magnitudes of 8.6, 8.4, and 8.8 on the
Richter scale. It is the
largest series of earthquakes known to have occurred in North
America.

1815

April 5, 10–11, Netherlands Indies (Sumbawa,
Indonesia): eruption of Tambora largest in historic times. An
estimated 92,000 people were killed, about 10,000 directly as a result
of explosions and ash fall and about 82,000 indirectly by starvation and
disease.

Aug. 26–28, Netherlands Indies (Krakatau,
Indonesia): eruption of Krakatau; violent
explosions destroyed two-thirds of island and caused a tsunami on Java
and Sumatra, killing more than 36,000. It was felt as far away as Cape Horn and possibly
England.

May 18, Mount Saint Helens, Washington: one of the largest volcanic explosions in North American history killed 65 people and a significant portion of the elk, deer, bear, and coyote populations, and destroyed 230 sq mi of land and forest.

May 12, northeast Iran: severe earthquake measuring
7.3 in magnitude left more than 1,500 people dead and at least 4,460
injured.

June–Sept., southern Montserrat: ongoing eruption
of Soufrière Hills volcano since July 1995; killed 20 people in major
eruption on June 25, 1997, rendered southern two-thirds of Montserrat uninhabitable,
and forced some 8,000 of the island's 12,000 residents to abandon the
island.

1998

May 30, northern Afghanistan: magnitude 6.9
earthquake and aftershocks killed at least 4,000. A quake on Feb. 4 in
same area killed about 2,300.

July 17, Papua New Guinea: three tsunamis, possibly
spurred by an undersea landslide following an earthquake, wiped out
entire villages in the northwest province of Sepik. At least 2,100
killed.

1999

Jan. 25, Armenia, Colombia: 1,185 dead and more
than 4,000 injured in magnitude 6.2 earthquake. Over 200,000 left
homeless.

Jan. 13, El Salvador: magnitude 7.7 earthquake set
off some 185 landslides across El Salvador; at least 850 died and nearly
100,000 houses were destroyed.

Jan. 26, Bhuj, India: magnitude 7.7 earthquake
rocked western Indian state of Gujarat, killing more
than 20,000 people and leaving 600,000 homeless.

2002

March 25, northeast Afghanistan: series of
earthquakes—the largest measuring 6.1 in magnitude—rattled an area 100
mi north of Kabul. Estimated 1,000 people killed. The city of Nahrin, a
densely populated district capital, was completely razed.

Dec. 26, Sumatra, Indonesia: magnitude 9.0
earthquake, off the west coast of Sumatra, caused a tremendously
powerful tsunami in the Indian Ocean that hit 12 Asian countries,
killing more than 225,000 and leaving millions homeless. It was the
deadliest tsunami in history.

March 28, Sumatra, Indonesia: magnitude 8.7
earthquake, off the west coast of Sumatra, killed 1,313. Many buildings
in the islands of Nias and Simeulue were destroyed and some officials
feared another tsunami would occur. The same area was at the center of a
huge tsunami in December that killed over 225,000 people. Officials at
the U.S. Geological Survey said that yesterday's earthquake was an
aftershock of December's 9.0 quake. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was
twice the power of the 8.7 magnitude quake.

Oct. 8, Pakistan: magnitude 7.6 earthquake centered
in the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region killed more than
80,000 and injured 65,000. About half of the region’s capital city,
Muzaffarabad, has been destroyed, other towns and villages were
flattened, and the extreme mountainous terrain and bad weather made many
areas unreachable for weeks after the quake. An estimated 4 million were
left homeless with winter on the way and insufficient resources to
provide shelter.

2006

May 26, Java, Indonesia: (May 27 at 5:54 AM local
time in Java, Indonesia). 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed 5,749 people
and destroyed 127,000 homes. This area had also been under an intense
volcano watch due to the ongoing eruption of the volcano Merapi

March 6, Sumatra, Indonesia: Two earthquakes,
magnitudes 6.4 and 6.3, killed at least 70 people in western Sumatra.
Several hundred were injured, and more than 1,000 buildings
collapsed.April 1, Honiara, Solomon Islands:
(April 2 at 7:39 AM local time in Honiara, Solomon Islands). Magnitude
8.1 earthquake and ensuing tsunami left at least 34 dead and thousands
homeless. The Solomon Islands are located in a part of the Pacific
referred to as the "Ring of Fire" due to the frequency of volcanic
activity and earthquakes in the region.

July 16, Niigata, Japan: A 6.8 magnitude earthquake
left at least 11 dead and injured more than 900. The tremor caused
skyscrapers in Tokyo to sway for almost a minute, and buckled roads and
bridges. Earthquake damage was also (belatedly) reported at the
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which was eventually shut down
until its safety could be confirmed.

Sept. 12 and 13, Sumatra, Indonesia: More than a
dozen people die on the island of Sumatra when three quakes, one with a
magnitude of 8.4, hit.

Nov. 14, South America: Earthquake with 7.7
magnitude kills at least two people and injures more than 150 in parts
of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

2008

Feb. 20, western Aceh province, Indonesia: Earthquake with 7.5 magnitude kills three people and injures at least 25 more in near the western Aceh province of Indonesia.

May 12, China: over 67,000 people die and hundreds of thousands more are injured when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan Provinces in western China. Nearly 900 students were trapped when Juyuan Middle School in the Sichuan Province collapsed from the quake.

July 24, Japan: at least 90 people are injured and thousands of homes lose power when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes 67 miles below the earth's surface in the region of Iwate.

Oct. 6, Kyrgyzstan: at least 70 people die, hundreds more are injured, and hundreds of homes are leveled when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Osh region.